Page 20 of Gin & Jewels

“I’m fine.”

“You were shot.”

“Not the first time.”

“Well, it better be the last.”

I grinned. “Not when I hang around with you fuckers apparently. Bad news follows.”

“None of us have been shot before.”

I rolled my eyes, the only part of my body that didn’t hurt. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“If that’s what you want, then I can tell you that the doc said the surgery went well, and they removed the entire bullet, and there wasn’t any major damage to your muscle or blood vessels. You’ll be out of commission for a few weeks, but should be fine.”

“Great. How’d you know I was even here?”

“Mark called me after your date called him.”

“Ah. Guess Mark’s not paying me for that date then.”

Gabe grinned. “Nah. He still will. Plus, all women love heroes. I bet she’ll give you a huge tip too.”

I grunted, causing pain to race down my arm. “We’ll see.”

“I’ll let you get some rest. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Thanks, man.” I smiled again.

“The others should be by when visiting hours start, and they’ll probably ask you a million questions.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Gabe left, and I closed my eyes to fall back asleep, not believing that I had been shot on a date. Thankfully, I was the only one hurt.

Though Cassie was pretty shaken up. I hoped she was sleeping and doing better than I was.

Micky didn’t cometo pick me up as he said he would, which led me to believe that it was for sure Keith and his friends who robbed us.

After the cops took my statement—I left out who I thought was behind the robbery—Martina was kind enough to drive me home, a home that I was scared to walk into. I wasn’t sure what was on the other side of the door.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said as I reached for the handle.

“Try to get some sleep, okay?”

I smiled tightly at her. “Yeah, you too. Have a good night.” I shut the car door and walked up the driveway, my heart pounding once again. When the robbers came in, I’d thought the worst. I’d never had a gun pointed at me, and even though Brad had played the hero and been my shield, I was still scared shitless. When I heard the gun go off, I froze. Flashes of my parents came to me, and I’d wondered if it was time for me to see them again.

With my hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath and opened the front door.

“Bite the wooden spoon and shut up!” Micky yelled.

“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t shot me!” Keith yelled back.

I walked into the kitchen to see Keith lying on the kitchen island, his friends around him and bloody towels near him. “Cass,” Keith called when he saw me walk into the room. “Help me.”

Anger immediately washed over me. “Help you? You fucking robbed my work tonight!”

“So what? It’s not like we robbed fromyou.”